OTTAWA - Opposition leaders are seizing on new evidence of a spiralling financial crisis to paint Stephen Harper as out of touch -- and out of empathy -- with worried Canadians.
With polls suggesting economic concern is burrowing away at Tory support, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion offered an alternative Wednesday to the Conservatives' "do-nothing" approach in times of crisis.
"With an election less than a week to go, Canada's economy is facing significant challenges," he told a business audience.
"Stephen Harper has done nothing to face this challenge ... he has failed the most important test of a leader."
The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that Canada will outperform other well-off countries, but can't escape a global slowdown as the world works through "the most dangerous shock in mature financial markets since the 1930s."
And in a highly unusual move, the Bank of Canada joined with central banks in Europe and the U.S. to cut short-term interest rates by half a percentage point.
The banks said they were acting to ease "the recent intensification of the financial crisis," in a move that will provide "timely and significant support" to the economy.
In an effort to remind voters of the good old days of Liberal stewardship, Dion was introduced by former finance Minister Paul Martin, who is still respected for eliminating the huge deficit left by Brian Mulroney's big-spending Tory government.
Earlier Wednesday, NDP Leader Jack Layton pounced on Harper's comment Tuesday that the market meltdown offers Canadians "a lot of great buying opportunities" for investors.
"I'm serious (Harper actually said that)," Layton told supporters in Edmonton.
"It just shows how out of touch this Conservative government is with the hard-working families of this country, with the pensioners of this country who are worried about their future, and it shows that he doesn't care."
Dion received a boost for his 30-day plan to deal with the economy from an unusual source -- Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach. Stelmach echoed Dion's call for a special meeting of premiers on the issue.
Harper dismissed the opposition attacks, accusing his opponents of irresponsibly trying to convince Canadians the economy is "going to hell in a hand-basket."
"The opposition are trying to use pessimism and panic to get people to choose things that are not in those people's interests."
Speaking in Victoria, Harper said Wednesday's rate cut showed the willingness of banks internationally to deal with the situation.
He added that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will support calls for a G-8 summit on the crisis at a meeting in Washington on Friday.
Earlier, Flaherty told reporters Canada's banks are not as vulnerable as their international peers to the financial turmoil.
"We've had a couple of financial institutions in Canada that ran the risk of falling outside the capitalization requirements," he said. "We required them ... to maintain the appropriate capital requirements and raise capital as necessary, which was done months ago."
But the economic news, worsening by the day, has taken a toll on the Conservatives and what appeared like an easy stroll only a week ago to re-election, possibly even a majority.
The latest Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll put the Tories well below majority government territory and just four points ahead of the Liberals.
Forty per cent of Canadians said the economic uncertainty is affecting their voter preference. And for the first time, the much-pilloried Dion edged ahead of Harper on the personal leadership question.
"The numbers show little doubt that the Liberals have been having better success, the Conservative campaign has taken a serious hit, while the NDP remains an important wild card," said pollster Bruce Anderson.
The survey put the Tories at 31 per cent, the Liberals at 27, the NDP at 20 and the Greens at 12.
The rolling sample represents 1,278 interviews conducted Saturday through Tuesday and is considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Asked about his comments on this being a good time to invest in the stock market, Harper defended what he has already acknowledged is a limited capacity to show empathy.
"We know that people are worried and they have a right to be. But the appropriate thing is what is the government do about that?"
The job of the prime minister, he said, is not to join in the panic but to ensure the government identify good, long-term investments for the economy that will result in job creation.
The Liberal carbon tax and the NDP call for higher corporate taxes, along with ramped up spending, will only make matters worse, he argued.
